Stories from the Seas

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Tuesday, 31March2015

Cape Class Patrol Boats

As reported last year, our team was involved in the successful launch of the first Cape Class Patrol Boat for the Australian Customs and Border Protection Services. The vessels are fitted with two Cat® 3516C 2525bkW engines and a C4.4 emergency generator. In the past 12 months, a further two vessels have entered service, with a fourth nearing completion.

By the end of 2014, EPSA delivered 15 of the 17 main engines and gearboxes and eight shipsets of equipment. Delivery of the last shipset is due early in 2015. The excellent commitment of our project team, led by Russell Vallis to develop and nuture this business relationship has been integral to our success.

Incat 70M rig tender vessel

As featured in our last edition we won a contract with Incat to supply the power generation equipment for a Fast Crew Boat destined for the Caspian Sea. I am pleased to report that the vessel has since been launched on time and is currently en route to Azerbaijan. This vessel was fitted with four C18 550ekW custom-built generator sets and a C4.4 emergency genset.

The successful execution of a very time-sensitive delivery was greatly assisted by Andrew Hume and the team at William Adams in Hobart. This is a great example of the value of the Cat dealer network and our partnership on complex projects.

Incat 85M ferry for Sado Kisen

Also in the last edition we reported on another major contract with Incat for the supply of four C280x16 5650bkW propulsion engines and four C9 gensets. The main engines have now been successfully delivered to Incat with full approval from the Japanese Government.

This represents a significant project milestone and is a true success story for us. It highlights the importance of collaboration across the Cat network, in this case, EPSA, Caterpillar Singapore, Caterpillar Japan, the Cat Lafayette factory and the Marine Classification Societies.

The main engines are due to be installed this year and we will report further progress in an upcoming edition of Engine Room.

Port of Brisbane repower

Led by our Marine team and Queensland Sales Representative, Lincoln Booker, I am also pleased to report our new contract to repower the Port of Brisbane dredge with two C280-6 propulsion engines. These engines will replace the existing 3606 units that have completed almost 150,000 hours of service.

The newer and more efficient engines will ensure that the vessel is operational for a further 20 years.

Tongan barge

Finally, we have also secured a new contract to supply Cat equipment (two C12 propulsion engines and a C4.4 generator) for a Tongan barge being built in NSW. This is a small but important contract, led by NSW Sales Representative, Rob Flack working with the local shipyard and the Western Australian team completing the project’s engineering and procurement.